<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Banana Grams by overworkedunderwhelmed</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23713018">Banana Grams</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/overworkedunderwhelmed/pseuds/overworkedunderwhelmed'>overworkedunderwhelmed</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bad Puns, Banana Noir, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Identity Reveal, Marichat, Other Additional Tags to Be Added</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:59:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23713018</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/overworkedunderwhelmed/pseuds/overworkedunderwhelmed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the weight of the loneliness set in, all it took was one short, sweet note from a secret pen pal to lift Marinette’s spirits.</p><p>When one more mystery in her life becomes one mystery too many for her to handle, it dares to send the whole house of cards tumbling down.</p><p>Worse, that might just be a surprisingly ap<em>peel</em>ing <em>paws</em>ibility...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>342</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>714</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thanks to Yunyin and Enberlight for some feedback.</p><p>Kellarhi helped with a beta read on this one! &lt;3  </p><p>I've struggled to produce anything over the quarantine, and it was nice to finally get anything finished.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marinette scrambled down the stairs, rushing to get to her locker between classes.  The time in between was never long enough.</p><p>Even as crazy as her life had become, it had been an even <em>busier</em> few weeks.  </p><p>Things with Luka had been <em>okay</em>.  Just okay.  </p><p>It was bad enough that her superhero duties meant she had to bow out gracefully more often than not.  But even with all of that, there was only so much music she could listen to, especially when she was carrying the conversation -- and there was so, so very much she really couldn’t talk about.</p><p>It was increasingly clear to them both that despite their best efforts, it just wasn’t going to work out between them.  He’d been sad—and she’d been sad at the prospect of either of them feeling hurt—but eventually, they agreed to part amicably.  After all, Luka was still a good friend, and she knew without question she could still count on his skills as Viperion.</p><p>Tikki reminded her daily that she didn’t need someone else to be happy.  But with Alya and Nino as affectionate as they ever were, Adrien and Kagami hanging out more, and Chat Noir finally moving on (like she’d asked)...well, it all left her feeling a little lonely.</p><p>Marinette sighed, opening the door of her locker to switch out her books in-between classes. A sunny flash of yellow poked out from one of her books, prompting a soft smile to bloom across her face.  </p><p>Although it had been a surprise when the first note from a secret admirer had appeared, she had begun to look forward to them fondly. .</p><p>At first, she didn’t really know what to make of them.  Each butter yellow envelope was unlabeled with matching stationary inside.  The letter inside was typed to prevent any handwriting hints.</p><p>The outside didn’t even bear her name.  Just a single heart.</p><p>But the letters inside?  It was like having a pen pal who happened to know her very well. .  They weren’t very romantic… just startlingly sweet poems, jokes, or short stories.  Yet, they had quickly become a much needed pick me up long before she herself realized she’d needed one.</p><p>She shook her head, stowing the newest letter away in her bag.  There was no time to read it now before class.</p><p>Marinette pressed her lips into a thin line, shutting her locker and settling her bag over her shoulder as she headed back to the door.  Even now, she had no idea who was sending them.  She was sorely tempted to try and ask Tikki to stay in her locker and watch.  Not that that would exactly be a responsible thing… especially with all her Guardian duties on top of everything else.</p><p>But with the letters coming exclusively to her locker, she couldn’t help but make a point to sneak past and watch it as often as she could.  Alya didn’t even blink when she mentioned that she forgot her books for the next class.</p><p>In her rush back to class, the screaming had started. She hadn’t even made it to the stairs before she collided with someone.</p><p>Effortlessly, she had been scooped up by the giant banana like an odd, overly melty scoop of ice cream.  </p><p>It was awkward trying to peek over the shoulder—as her face was mostly buried inside the giant costume—and she had to lean back farther before she was able  to see that there was an Akuma attack in one of the upper classrooms.</p><p>Safely outside of the doors of the school and down the steps, the giant banana set her down, accidentally dropping another yellow envelope—like the one she’d just stowed in her bag—at her feet.</p><p>They stared at one another.</p><p>Well, she stared at a big pair of googly eyes on a Banana suit.</p><p>But someone was in there—and unless she missed her guess, they were a <em>very </em>familiar someone to her.</p><p>“<em>Sorry</em>,”  came the voice, cutting through the heavy mask of fabric, in what little Mandarin she knew offhand.  “<em>Get yourself home safely.  I'm afraid I have to <strong>split…</strong></em>”</p><p>She blinked… dazedly watching Banana Noir scamper off.  </p><p>Tikki knocked against her leg from inside the purse, urging her to mind the scramble of people all around her and get to taking on the Akuma.   </p><p>Ducking into the nearest alleyway in the opposite direction, Marinette pulled up the app—one she hadn’t used in months, repeating those words—to confirm that he’d said what she thought he’d said…</p><p>Her eyes widened when even the translated pun made all too much sense.  In a rush, she stowed her phone and summoned Tikki.</p><p>The fact that Chat Noir spoke nearly flawless Mandarin?  That just caught her entirely flat-footed.</p><p>That wasn’t exactly a common language of study.</p><p>In fact, she could only think of one person she knew (outside of her family and the recently departed Master Fu) who spoke it.</p><p>One with blonde hair and green eyes.</p><p>“Marinette!”  Tikki hissed, phasing out of her bag.  </p><p>Smacking her cheeks, Marinette forced her head to get back into the game.  She couldn’t afford any more surprises distracting her today.</p><p>There was an Akuma to catch.</p><p>And even she couldn’t be that lucky...</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Big thanks to Kellarhi for beta reading!  &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As he rounded the corner, his heart raced.  Ducking down behind the bins—as much as the yellow head would allow—Adrien anxiously stared out the hole in the eyes of his suit, looking for some sign that Marinette had rushed past, headed safely home.</p>
<p>He waited.</p>
<p>And waited.</p>
<p>Distantly, he could hear the din of battle starting a short distance away.</p>
<p>A noisy crowd of students raced past the alley entrance, and they scanned for her. Yet even with his relatively good vision and Plagg’s more keen gaze, they came up empty handed.</p>
<p>“Where is she?”  Yellow gloves gripped the edge of the rubbish bin.  “This was the fastest way home.  Where else would she be going?”  </p>
<p>Plagg eyes stayed locked on the street, never snapping back to match his gaze though he hovered beside his shoulder.  “You should just get in the fight, kid.  Isn’t that the fastest way to help her?”  </p>
<p>Adrien swayed, peering anxiously out away from the wall as if Plagg’s words hadn’t even landed.  Instinctively, his hand darted up to rake through hair and hit bulky fabric banana peel instead.   “Maybe I should have just carried her all the way home.  It might have worn me down a bit more, but at least I wouldn’t be so worried…”</p>
<p>Plagg sighed heavily.  “You’re not going to relax and fight this Akuma until I check, are you?”</p>
<p>Adrien blinked at his Kwami, eyes wide with naked hope.  “Would you?”</p>
<p>“You definitely owe me extra Camembert for this later…”</p>
<p>With a half-hearted nod as his Kwami phased through the suit, Adrien slumped back against the alley wall, resting up as much as he could.</p>
<p>“Maybe I shouldn’t worry so much.”  Adrien whispered to the empty walls.  </p>
<p>Marinette was used to taking care of herself.  It was just… lately, she had seemed so tired and really down.  </p>
<p>For the life of him, he couldn’t really figure out why.  After all, she seemed to be hanging out with Luka a bit more.  But whenever he tried to ask her in school, Marinette tried to assure him she was fine.</p>
<p>With a smile—he noticed—that never quite reached her eyes.</p>
<p>Adrien’s shoulders slumped, wincing at the memory.  Even he might not have noticed if he hadn’t known her nearly as well.  He hated to see any of his friends hurt, but seeing her down was honestly getting to him.  He couldn’t put a finger on why she was upset, but he’d wanted to do something to cheer her up.</p>
<p>With Marinette being particularly evasive with him directly and with no real plausible excuse for him to just accidentally drop by her balcony as Chat Noir, the simplicity of the little notes felt like the perfect solution.  </p>
<p>As he’d already been awake and getting ready for an early morning photoshoot, it had been simple enough for him to transform and duck into school before dawn to drop off the first note.  What he hadn’t expected was the array of newly installed security cameras on all corners of the school.  </p>
<p>There was no telling yet if the cameras actually worked, which didn’t really leave him with many options—as Adrien, he was far too recognizable.  What’s more, he had no doubt that if Lila caught wind of his extra attention, she wouldn’t hesitate to go out of her way to stir up trouble for Marinette.  And that was the last thing Marinette needed right now.</p>
<p>He had even debated sending the next few notes directly to her house.  But it had only taken one solid look at the occasionally offbeat notes in his own pile of fan-mail for him to realize that might be fairly creepy to someone who wasn’t used to such attention… </p>
<p>Adrien spent the better part of the evening puzzling out what to do.  He might not be as creative as his Lady, but he still had a trick up his sleeves.  Namely, this bulky, yellow costume that had been collecting dust in his closet.</p>
<p>His yellow gloved fingers rapped rhythmically against the brick wall.</p>
<p>It had only taken one more early trip into school with his massive duffel bag to stash Mr. Banana in one of the permanently empty lockers. Thanks to a missing shelf, it was closed with a padlock and deemed unusable, but nothing was <em>truly </em>locked against Plagg..</p>
<p>He’d only intended to use the costume to sneak the notes into her locker each day.  </p>
<p>However, that plan was tossed out the window that first day.</p>
<p>He didn’t get the chance to see Marinette until he got back from his photoshoot.  When he came in mid-lesson during the second period, she still seemed a bit down. Lucky for him, she still had yet to run down to her locker to grab her books for the third period.</p>
<p>With his own books already out on his desk, he couldn’t exactly sneak down to watch her reaction without looking suspicious…</p>
<p>The storm clouds had disappeared from her face when she’d returned.  When he dared to peek back—again and again—Marinette had been wearing the softest, sweetest smile for the rest of the day.</p>
<p>He knew from the start he wanted to send a few more notes, but now he knew he couldn’t help but try to watch her as she got the notes—it was how he now found himself in his slippery situation. </p>
<p>Adrien swiped his head across his forehead, to fend of the stuffy heat.  He wasn’t exactly used to monkeying around in the suit for so long.  </p>
<p>Of course, everything has been going <em>peachy—</em>until today.</p>
<p>Plagg phased inside the Mr. Banana costume, diving to snag the spare Camembert in Adrien’s shirt pocket.</p>
<p>“No luck?”  Adrien frowned.  </p>
<p>“I didn’t see any sign of her.”  Plagg assured between noisy bites.  “So she must have headed home.”</p>
<p>The tension ebbed out from his shoulders.  It would have to be good enough for now.</p>
<p>“Meant to ask,”  Plagg gulped back a giant bite.  “Why did you answer in Mandarin?”</p>
<p>Adrien nervously chewed at his lip, as he shifted to stand upright.  “Honestly, I panicked.  Marinette knows my voice…”</p>
<p>“I don’t know why you’re worrying,” Plagg shrugged.  “Pigtails has seen the Banana before, right?”  </p>
<p>Adrien shook his head.  “She did.  As Multimouse.  But since then, Mr. Banana has been appearing again on TV.   I mean, I’m sure they got him another costume.  With any luck, Marinette will think I am him.”</p>
<p>Plagg snorted, as he took a massive bite of the proffered Camembert.  “We don’t tend to have that in spades.”  </p>
<p>“I mean, she knows Chat Noir’s voice, too, but the suit helps to hide who I am...  The only thing I could think to do to throw her off was to say something that would throw her off.”  he shrugged.  “I mean, I know she knows a bit… but even her Mom has said she doesn’t practice as much as she would like.</p>
<p>“Kid, you need to stop popping in at the bakery for practice sessions.”</p>
<p>“The usual practice I get is too boring otherwise…”  Adrien arched his brows.  “Besides, I didn’t hear you complaining when I brought home an extra cheese danish…”</p>
<p>Plagg didn’t answer that one.  Instead, he flinched.  His little ears veering upwards.</p>
<p>Both went silent as Adrien leaned back to peer upwards to spot the scarlet and shadow rushing overhead.</p>
<p>“Is that you, Chat Noir?”  Ladybug backpedaled over the divide, grinning widely.  Her yo-yo was latched onto the roof like a Gatling gun, repelling down the side of the building.  </p>
<p>Gazing up fondly, he waved to his partner.  He coughed, pointedly to cover his voice.  “Just fueling up.”</p>
<p>“What are you—?”  She closed her eyes, shaking her head with finality.  “You know what?  Never mind.  I don’t want to know...”</p>
<p>Within the suit, Adrien exhaled in sharp relief.  At least Ladybug didn’t press or question the costume.</p>
<p>“Suit up, Kitty!”  She grinned ruefully, shooting him an errant wink.  “Or you’re going to miss out on all the fun.”</p>
<p>The giant banana performed some semblance of a nod, and then called out his transformation as a smirking Ladybug shot back up into the skies above the school.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks as always to Kellarhi for beta reading.</p>
<p>Here is more of this installment of chaos as part of the APS first anniversary celebration!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Against the combined power of Chat Noir and Ladybug, the Akuma didn’t last long.</p>
<p>In fact, the battle went so quickly that the school held afternoon classes on the usual schedule once everyone had filed back into class.</p>
<p>To Adrien, that was in part a relief.  Otherwise, he would have been expected to sit alone in his room and do remote schoolwork for the rest of the day.</p>
<p>Besides, now it was the easiest thing in the world for him to turn around and reassure himself that Marinette was okay.</p>
<p>Of course, every single time Adrien managed to steal a glance back at Marinette for the rest of the afternoon, he couldn’t help but notice that her attention was equally divided.</p>
<p>Much to his not-so-secret glee, Marinette kept absently fiddling with the yellow envelope that peeked out from her textbook.  The corner of the envelope was dog-eared from the way she kept fussing with the edges.</p>
<p>The simple, tiny motion of her thumb absently tracing over the envelope had entirely stolen his focus.  </p>
<p>As if it was his hand that she was brushing her thumb over, and not just the letter.</p>
<hr/>
<p>After classes had ended for the day and the Gorilla had ferried him home, Adrien had rushed through his silent, solitary dinner in the dining room. He had hurried through his homework— thankfully another lesson he’d covered with Nathalie months ago.  </p>
<p>Patrol was uneventful. </p>
<p>Even the city below was a little more quiet this evening, without even a break-in to interrupt.  It was a real reprieve after Hawkmoth had sent out more than one Akuma most days over the past few weeks. </p>
<p>Ladybug yawned, halting briefly to stretch on an even run of rooftop.</p>
<p>Chat Noir put his hands behind his own head, stretching as well, his eyes darting—not for the first time this evening—in the direction of a familiar balcony.  “You can head out if you want, M’lady.  I’m not really tired yet…”
</p>
<p>She hesitated, gazing at him in blinking disbelief.  After a few moments of quiet contemplation, she finally spoke.  “Okay.  I guess I could get started on my work a bit early then…"</p>
<p>Grinning, Chat Noir hovered beside her, leaning just barely into her personal space.  “What kind of work?”</p>
<p>She merely snorted, snapping out her yo-yo and tossing it to snag the rooftop across the street.  “Wouldn't you like to know…”  she winked, as she swiveled away swinging in the opposite direction.</p>
<p>He smiled, watching her race and disappear over the horizon.</p>
<p>If he was being honest, he really <em>did </em>want to know.  It would be nice to be able to talk to Ladybug about something personal for a change. </p>
<p>There were just so many things he wanted to tell Ladybug.  She was, after all, his <em>best </em>friend.</p>
<p>Sighing, he turned in the other direction, running another loop around the nearby neighborhoods, scrambling over rooftops.</p>
<p>For now, he would have to save his worries for his other friends.  </p>
<p>Like Marinette.</p>
<p>He leapt across the divide, vaulting just into the next neighborhood over (where the last Akuma was defeated) to confirm with his own eyes that all was still quiet.</p>
<p>Reassured for the moment, he raced back towards home. He paused when he reached the rooftop across from their school, his eyes locking onto the steps outside. </p>
<p>The mere sight forced him to recall acutely how much it had bothered him to not know she was safe, and he sighed deeply.</p>
<p>He raked a clawed glove into his hair, fussing with it absently.  </p>
<p>It was weird.  He didn’t worry about Alya like this.  Sure, early on, she had managed to get a little too close to some battles, but now Nino was almost always nearby to help her out.</p>
<p>But Marinette?  She was alone.</p>
<p>Chat Noir’s brows wrinkled as his eyes strayed once again to the halo of fairy lights that dotted her balcony.</p>
<p>He wanted to stop in and check on her.  Of course, as Adrien, he knew that she was okay.  </p>
<p>However, that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to continue to worry about her.  Nothing would ease his mind on knowing she was actually getting herself someplace safe.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The heavy thud of his boots as he landed atop her balcony wasn’t enough to draw Marinette’s attention, so Chat Noir ended up crouching down to knock at her skylight.</p>
<p>A breathless Marinette scrambled up the steps that lead to the rooftop opening.  “Chat Noir?”  Anxiously, she peered out the skylight door behind him.  “Is there another Akuma?”</p>
<p>He shook his head.  “Not since the one earlier.”</p>
<p>Marinette blinked, watching him carefully for a moment.  Humming, she rocked slightly backwards on the ladder to allow him inside, as the chilly night air was quickly flooding in.  Suited up, he really wasn’t feeling the cold, but the barest tremble of her lips made it all too clear she was much too cold to be able to have this little chat up on the rooftop.</p>
<p>Dutifully, he answered her silent invitation.  It was only as he slowly followed into her room that he noticed her hair was down. The dampness from her hair left a few small water droplets to roll down to her shoulders, slightly wetting the lace edge of her pajama top.</p>
<p>Blushing, Chat turned his head away, barely catching a whiff of her shampoo as she passed him to sit back down in her computer chair. Marinette rubbed her arms briefly to help warm them, and he spotted a still steaming cup of tea and a plate of cookies set out on her desk, behind her open history book.</p>
<p>“Sorry.”  He murmured ruefully and started to pace.  His gaze kept slipping back over to her bag, which sat neatly on the floor beside her desk.  Even from this short distance, he could see a few of the books peeking out.</p>
<p>And a bit of yellow paper. </p>
<p>Pointedly Chat forced his eyes away.  Even if half of him <em>really </em>wanted to ask what she’d thought of the note...</p>
<p>“I promise that I didn’t mean to interrupt your evening like this,” he began.</p>
<p>“Just because it is an unexpected visit, doesn’t mean it’s unwelcome, Chat Noir.”</p>
<p>With those simple words, she magically eased the fretful frown that had furrowed his brows.</p>
<p>Her arms settled, crossed over her chest as she spun in her chair.  “However, unless I’ve missed a big article on the Ladyblog, I didn’t think you were usually one to make house calls.”</p>
<p>He exhaled sharply, eyes darting back towards her.  His nervous energy was surely going to make him wear a pattern into her floorboards, though he was careful to step where the creaking beneath his feet wasn’t too loud.  “I came because I was worried about you.”</p>
<p>“Me?”  Marinette snorted out a startled laugh.  “Why would you be worried about me?”</p>
<p>His eyes narrowed as he halted in place.  “I didn’t see you running home when the Akuma attacked.  I even stayed in the alleyway to make sure.”  </p>
<p>“Most people only think about saving themselves.”  Her foot tapped anxiously at the floor as she stared distantly out the window.</p>
<p>All of a sudden her eyes widened, her gaze snapping back to him in horror.  “Is that why you showed up late to the battle—?”  She whispered in disbelief.</p>
<p>He pouted, suddenly defensive.  “How did you know about that?”</p>
<p>She coughed, as her eyes darted back to the cup of tea in front of her.  “The Ladyblog, of course.”</p>
<p>Chat Noir sighed in relief, flopping down bonelessly to sit into her chaise.  “Then you were with Alya?”</p>
<p>She winced, covering it somewhat by tipping the mug back over her lips.  “Not exactly.”</p>
<p>He blanched, leaping back up onto his feet.  “So you didn’t go home and didn’t stay at the school with Alya.  Then where did you go?”</p>
<p>She gaped at him, incredulous.  “Why does it matter?” </p>
<p>“It matters because I wanted to make sure you were safe!”  Chat Noir huffed.</p>
<p>“Why?”  Marinette shook her head in disbelief before pacing her own half of her room.  “You’re being ridiculous.  I actually <em>can </em>take care of myself.”</p>
<p>“Not against an Akuma,” he hissed.  </p>
<p>Marinette rolled her eyes.  “Do I have to remind you about Evillustrator?  Even civilians can do a lot against some Akuma. Sometimes way more than you’d think.  Besides, after everything we’ve all been through in Paris, don’t you think most people run around with a few escape plans already at the ready?”   Her withering glare brooked no further argument.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry for doubting you.”  Peering over at her wearily, Chat Noir’s shoulders slumped, arms dropping uselessly at his sides.  “But you’re my friend, Marinette.  I can’t help but worry about my friends.”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, too,” she murmured.  Massaging her temples, Marinette fought to even her breathing—and to lower the volume of her voice.  “It’s just… sometimes the straightest path home isn't exactly the safest.  Or the easiest.”</p>
<p>He nodded, eyes slipping more humbly to the floor as she slowly closed the gap between them.  “I know.”  He knew that better than most.  It was an absolute struggle sometimes just to break free from the ever-prying eyes, let alone to sneak away and safely transform.</p>
<p>Marinette stopped at arms length and peered up into his eyes. “Chat… It’s sweet of you to worry, but unless an Akuma is targeting me directly, I really can take care of myself.”   She assured him, with a slowly forming smile.  “You should already be busy just focusing on saving Paris.  When you and Ladybug win, then we are all safe too.”  </p>
<p>“Besides, you wouldn’t want to keep Ladybug waiting.”  She continued, softly fussing with her hair and tucking a stray, drying lock behind her ears.  </p>
<p>He blinked, unsure if it was just the light from the walls or if her cheeks were the slightest bit pink.  “I’m <em>sure </em>you both must worry when that happens…”</p>
<p>He smiled gratefully, his eyes growing softer as his gaze locked with hers.  It was so amazing how Marinette just cared so much about other people.  </p>
<p>Marinette cleared her throat.  “I— I did have a question, if you didn’t mind.”</p>
<p>He beamed.  “Assuming it isn’t a personal question?  I’ll answer if I can.”</p>
<p>She nodded, nose scrunching up adorably as she puzzled over exactly what to ask.  “Well, since I know it was you who delivered the note as the giant banana…” she started to say. </p>
<p>“What?”  His cheeks flushed beneath the mask.  He wouldn’t have expected it of Marinette, but it seemed she was just as curious and as ruthless a questioner as Alya.  That surprised him quite a bit.  “How did you—?”
</p>
<p>“The fact that you immediately rushed me away when the Akuma appeared was telling.”  She confirmed, thinking aloud.  “Although, I didn’t think your transformation would even work beneath the costume.”  She blanched, peering up at him in shock.  “Wait…  You <em>weren't </em>transformed when you picked me up, were you?”</p>
<p>His eyes widened impressively.  She was able to deduce <em>that much</em>?</p>
<p>Marinette’s gaze widened to match his as she smacked her hand over her mouth to keep from saying anything more.  “Nevermind that.”  She waved her hands frantically.  “<em>That</em> wasn’t my question.”</p>
<p>Chat smirked a little, half amused at her flailing antics, and half secretly pleased that she had been suitably impressed.</p>
<p>She shook her head, forcing herself to focus.  “What I really wanted to know is why are <em>you </em>delivering these notes?”</p>
<p>He flinched, peering over at her with interest.  “Are you trying to find out who is writing them?”</p>
<p>His eyes were inevitably drawn to the way she worried at her lip.  “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious…”</p>
<p>Chat Noir gulped, trying to think quickly on his feet.  “I can’t tell you who… But I know the why…”  He paced her room.  “This person mentioned how down you were looking, and they were worried.  They said you carry a lot on your plate, but you usually look far happier.  They wanted to fix that.”</p>
<p>Marinette's face fell.  “They couldn’t come to me directly?”</p>
<p>“I’m not really sure.”  Shrugging, Chat Noir’s gaze darted off outside her window, fearing he might be a little too honest.  “We all have our secrets…”</p>
<p>Marinette hummed, standing beside him in quiet contemplation.</p>
<p>“It did surprise me, seeing you in that costume though.”  She chuckled.  “I would have thought it would be easier for you to steal in as Chat Noir and drop things off.”</p>
<p>He snorted, eyes darting back over to match canny blue.  “You would think… but I guess the principal must be a little more worried about safety.  There are cameras all over the outside of the school.  I stumbled onto them when I was trying to deliver the first note.  I don’t know how well they work, but if Chat Noir was spotted, I’m sure the alarms would go up more quickly.</p>
<p>Marinette’s lips curved, as she dipped her head to take another sip of tea.  “Sounds like a little secret to share with Ladybug.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>After he bid her adieu so she could finish up the last of her homework, Chat Noir lingered for a moment, outside Marinette’s window, watching as she read one of the notes he’d left.  That bright yellow paper was unmistakable.</p>
<p>With a grin, he fired off a quick message to Ladybug from his baton before he took to the rooftops to head home.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to Kellarhi for beta reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chat Noir sighed as he ducked back into his own window.</p><p>He was immeasurably glad to know for certain that whatever had been bothering Marinette seemed to have been alleviated somewhat by his letters.  Of course, he would do everything he could to see that his friends stayed happy.  That they stayed safe.</p><p>But that fond look in her eyes, when she’d read his words?</p><p><em>That </em>was a little addicting.</p><p>In one swift stroke, he had touched her heart in a way that he never seemed to be able to do in person.</p><p>Adrien sighed as the rush of light and magic ebbed away, leaving his muscles weary as he padded around his room, looking for his pajamas.</p><p>During his scramble home, his mind was already racing anew, combing over all the recent memes and comics he’d found. He wanted to make sure the next message to her was <em>purr</em>fect.  Dozens of puns and cat memes leapt to mind during his sprint along the rooftops.</p><p>Adrien raked his fingers through his hair, mussing away the stiff hold from the day’s worth of hair product.</p><p>Of course, now it was much too clear that none of them would do.</p><p>If he truly wanted to keep Marinette safe, he had no choice but to deliberately keep away anything that fairly screamed <em>Chat Noir</em> when he wrote back to her.</p><p>A task that was far more difficult than he’d realized.  He’d spent a full hour, pacing his room and tooling around on his computer puzzling out what was best to send to Marinette.</p><p>Leaning back in his computer chair, Adrien sighed.  It wasn’t like he could ask Nino without explaining what it was for.  And then there was the risk it might all get back to Alya…</p><p>That left him little other choice than to check what he wanted to send Marinette with an increasingly disinterested Plagg.</p><p>Of course, that meant that all his best cat memes were right out.  So too was anything related to Paris’s heroes.</p><p>The safest topic was schoolwork… but most everything seemed a little dry without his usual array of puns sneaking in.</p><p>He was scrubbed a weary hand over his face—mussing it irrevocably until his morning shower—when inspiration finally hit.  </p><p>Their literature discussion of Cinderella by Charles Perrault would have to do.  He could make the note more fashion focused, and ap-<em>peal</em> to her that way.</p><p>Cinderella was one of the few favorite tales his mother loved to tell him as a child.  A few years ago, when he had only just stumbled out onto the internet, he had found an older, absurdly comedic spin on the tale.  It was one that featured Cinderella in a painfully gaudy dress… and a prince whose poor eyesight had been a delightful boon.</p><p>As it happened, Cinderella's fairy godmother definitely had a friend at the palace—one who was a fairy godmother to the prince.</p><p>The poor young man tried his best to appease his parents.  Unfortunately, they seemed unduly concerned that his eyeglasses might put off any eligible suitors. To appease them, his fairy godmother had bestowed upon him magical glasses—rose colored ones—that no one else could see but him.</p><p>The King and Queen were delighted.  The Prince was just happy enough that he could see without tripping over his own feet.</p><p>But the Royal delight was mostly short-lived.  For when the dance began, the Prince seemed mostly disinterested in any of the girls who appeared.</p><p>All until one, of course.</p><p>The entire court was entranced by Cinderella for sure, but unlike other stories, it wasn’t because her gown was gorgeous.  She waltzed in with profound confidence, wearing a dress that screamed beautiful disaster, and they were all watching—breathlessly waiting for the prince who had long kept all others at arm’s length.</p><p>No matter that he had done so simply because he was quite thoroughly farsighted.</p><p>Of course, the wrinkle was that his rose colored glasses happened to make the magic of Cinderella's dress glow to perfection.</p><p>Although the magic had helped turn their heads toward one another, it was their kindness—and wit—that had kept them at each other’s side for the rest of the evening.  That is, until the clock struck twelve, and the doomed magic faded. </p><p>Carefully queuing up the yellow paper, he printed out his favorite image from the story.  It was one where the prince’s glasses showed a bit of his view and what the rest of the court must have seen.  </p><p>Gleefully, he typed out “<em>saw this comic and thought you might enjoy it</em>” and gave her the link to the web comic so she could see the rest herself.</p>
<hr/><p>He beamed, but no one would know it.  Not from behind the heavy layers of yellow fabric, foam, and googly eyes.</p><p>Changing inside the locker was a challenge, but it was worth it.  Besides, he already had experience—it wasn’t like some of the tents and fitting rooms they’d given him to change for modelling were all that much bigger. After a few more frustrating moments, he finally got the suit zipped up from the inside. </p><p>He was just about to sneak out to deliver his note when he heard the clatter of activity out in the locker room.</p><p>There was still a good twenty minutes before classes were due to start, but there was no way that he could head out until the coast was clear.</p><p>Warily, he—and Plagg—peered through the slits of the locker, checking for the coast to clear, and hoping for a swift end to the scrapes, scrambling, and chatter. </p><p>They watched and waited until the last of the sounds died out and the footsteps trailed off.</p><p>When Plagg nodded, he finally darted out, yellow envelope in hand, ready to stuff it into Marinette’s locker.</p><p>Blinking, he stopped.  Someone—Marinette, perhaps—had stuck a yellow post-it note to the front of her locker.  Shaking his head inside the overly large suit, he quickly shoved the yellow envelope into her locker and pulled the post-it note free.</p><p>The message was very simple; a big arrow was drawn in heavy, black marker ink, pointing up, and it featured an illustration of the  tiniest little banana in one corner.</p><p>Drawing back, he peered up at the top of the locker.  It was high up—even higher than he expected Marinette could reach.  It was definitely even a challenge for him right now in the Mr. Banana costume.</p><p>How in the world did she manage to tape anything up there?</p><p>Banana Noir jumped, flailing his arms uselessly far more times than he’d anticipated before he was finally able to grab the envelope stuck there.</p><p>Blinking, Banana Noir looked down at the contents in his hands.  </p><p>Marinette hadn’t just sent one note back; there were two very different envelopes.</p><p>He grinned, peering anxiously back and forth before he dove back into the locker he’d used to change the first time.</p><p>He barely got the locker door closed before unzipping his way back out of the costume.  Once his head and shoulders were free, he glanced down at the envelopes.</p><p>The first envelope was pink, addressed to My Secret PenPal.  Eyes softening, he carefully opened up the letter as he wriggled his other arm out of the suit.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p><br/>
<em>“My Dear Friend—whoever you are.</em></p>
  <p>
  <em>Thank you so much for thinking of me.  </em>
</p>
  <p>
  <em>I do wish I knew who you were to tell you thank you and to explain how much your kindness means to me.</em>
</p>
  <p>
  <em>But until then, sending this note will have to do.</em>
</p>
  <p>
  <em> Marinette”</em></p>
</div><p>Gleefully, he grinned at the adorable little cat meme she’d drawn into the corner.  “Have a <em>meow</em>-velous day!”</p><p>He sighed fondly, rubbing the edge of the paper with his thumb.  She must have stayed up pretty late too.  There was no sign of the envelopes out on her desk when he’d left her house last night.</p><p>“C’mon, kid.”   Plagg chided.  “Hurry up and change, so we can split.”</p><p>Adrien chuckled, the sound echoing in the tiny locker space.  Kicking his legs out of the slim yellow pants, he peered over at the other envelope.  This one was a soft green color, with nothing more than a tiny paw print on the back.</p><p>Blinking, he opened up the envelope, in spite of Plagg’s annoyed groan.  “Just read it later…”</p><p><em>“Chat Noir,”</em>  he read her words in his mind, as he finally shucked the rest of the costume back off over his shoes.  Absently, he stuffed the suit into his duffel bag with one hand while holding the letter close enough to his face to read the words with the other. </p><p>
  <em></em></p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“Thank you again for saving me yesterday.  I promise that I really can keep myself safe (most of the time), but the thought and the concern for my well-being really is appreciated.  </em>
  </p>
  <p>
  <em>Since you have declared yourself the designated messenger, I wanted to send a thank you back to my Secret Pen Pal. Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to send a note to them without also thanking you.</em>
</p>
  <p>
  <em>Of course, puns are quite as baked into my repertoire as they are for you, so I can only hope that you do find these few a-peeling.”</em></p>
</div><p>Much to Plagg’s chagrin, Adrien sighed, leaning back against the cold metal of the locker, smiling fondly as he re-read each endlessly thoughtful word.</p><p>“I”m going to be late for my nap now aren’t I?”  Plagg groused.</p><p>Adrien gaped, checking his cell phone screen.  “Oh no!  I’m going to be late!”</p><p>“That’s why I told you to save it for later.”  Plagg rolled his eyes, as he popped open the locker door for Adrien and dove into his school bag.  “I have no idea how you think you’re going to make it through class without staring back at pigtails with hearts in your eyes.  She’s going to figure you out, you know...”</p><p>Adrien tugged his school bag up on his shoulder, mumbled adamantly.  “I do <em>not </em>have <em>hearts </em>in my eyes.”</p><p>Of course, that didn’t keep him from stopping to look in the mirror and check.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Nope.  This version of Cinderella isn't real.</p><p>(Yet.)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks as always to Kellarhi for helping me polish this one up!  &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was a smile on Ladybug’s face that lingered all throughout patrol. It faded only slightly when she saw the fangy, exaggerated yawn from her partner. Staying out with him was the one way she could secretly say thanks; he’d always said he enjoyed patrolling with her.  Pleased as she was to spend this extra time with him, it was troubling that he seemed so tired.</p><p>With surprisingly little effort, she yawned herself.  “Maybe we should call it a night.”</p><p>He beamed, stretching his arms above his head.  “Only if we can start a little earlier tomorrow.”</p><p>Ladybug grinned ruefully, shaking her head.  “I’ll try to show up half an hour earlier, but I might run a bit late.”</p><p>With a wink and a surprisingly graceful twirl of his baton, he chuckled.  “I’ll take it.  G’night, M’Ladybug.”</p><p>“Night, Chat Noir.”  Crossing her arms over her chest, Ladybug’s eyes followed him until he disappeared over the rooftops along the horizon.</p><p>“Get some sleep, <em>Chaton</em>.”  She whispered to the wind as she took off towards home.</p><hr/><p>As she ducked back into her room through the skylight, Ladybug detransformed, collapsing onto her bed.</p><p>“Marinette,”  Tikki chided.  “You really should finish that last bit of homework first.  You know you’ll want to sleep in tomorrow morning.”</p><p>“Alright, alright,” she sighed, wrinkling up her nose.  Step by step, she shuffled down the ladder and plodded across the floor.  </p><p>Her books were still scattered across her desk where she’d left them.  Though she had finished up most of it, there were a few physics problems left… ones she had been dreading.</p><p>With a heavy sigh, she cracked open her text book, only to find the yellow and grey envelopes from when she’d stashed them away in class earlier. Absently, she fiddled with her necklace. </p><p>Leaning back in her chair, she opened the silvery grey envelope to chuckle at the ridiculous meme he’d left her.  This time, it was one about a disappearing red dot—one that reminded her very much of the time where a little laser pointer was all it had taken to bring her partner back to himself.</p><p>He was certainly more adept at trading pun-filled notes, and it was taking a lot of effort on her part to try to carry her side of the conversation in memes.  It was tiring, sure.  But it was worth it to keep seeing the secret little smile on Chat Noir’s face.</p><p>Folding the paper back up, she tucked it safely into the envelope and peered over at the yellow one.  </p><p>Tikki hovered over her shoulder, smiling brightly.  “Physics doesn’t usually make you smile like that.”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>Nodding to the letter in her hand, Tikki smirked.  </p><p>“I’m just wondering…”  Marinette glanced down at the envelopes as she stood and moved over to her dresser to stand before her diary box.  “Who do you think he is?”</p><p>The Kwami tilted her head in confusion.  “Chat Noir?”</p><p>Marinette blinked for a moment before finally snorting.  “No.  I meant my pen pal.”</p><p>“Well you <em>do </em>have two now.” Tikki chuckled.  “But are you so sure it is a guy?”</p><p>Marinette frowned, pulling her necklace off to open the lock on the box.   “I guess I can't be entirely certain.  But, I can’t imagine any of the girls not feeling like they could support me directly.  They all have my number, and none of them have ever had any issues coming to talk with me if they were worried about me.  That goes for any of my friends, really.”</p><p>Tikki’s eyes widened at that.  “Maybe someone in one of the other classes then?”</p><p>“Maybe.”  Her nose wrinkled.  “But being Ladybug means I don’t get to hang around in between and after classes all that often.  I’m not sure anyone would really be able to see me enough to have noticed.”  </p><p>“Well, <em>whoever </em>it is… it’s good that one of your friends noticed you haven’t exactly been yourself.  I’m happy to see that someone cares enough about you to go through this much trouble.  As guardian, you really need to be as level headed as possible, to keep everyone safe. You know I will do what I can to help you, Marinette.  But I’m glad to see others doing more as well.  You should have a lot of support.  Especially since you are already shouldering so much as Ladybug.”  Tikki’s nub-like hands pressed against her cheeks.  “I just hate that I can’t do more to help, after all.”</p><p>“You do a lot for me, Tikki,” Marinette murmured.  Frowning, she carefully filed these two additional letters into the ever-growing pile of envelopes in her lock box.  </p><p>Sighing, Tikki was relieved to just let it drop.  It was easy enough to do, seeing as Marinette seemed to be content to kind of let it lie.  In her heart, Tikki knew there was a chance that Chat Noir was delivering a note from his civilian self.  And that only heightened the risk that if she pushed too hard Marinette might connect those dots, especially since Adrien truly was so close.  “Why are you hiding the letters away?”</p><p>“I’m a little worried about Chat Noir’s letters, and somebody finding them.”  She tapped the outside of the closed diary box, deep in thought.  “Well, the puns and memes are a little telling.”  </p><p>“Perhaps a little too telling.”  Tikki conceded.  “Locking them away is probably best, then.  To keep everyone safe.”</p><p>Marinette sighed, turning the key in the lock before she pulled it out and replaced it on her necklace. Then, she dropped back onto her chaise.  “I’m happy he’s writing back to me.  Honestly.”</p><p>“I hear a but, there…”</p><p>“It’s just… it’s hard enough finding time in the day just to finish my homework with everything. It’s taking me hours to find memes and puns for these replies.  Now, even Chat is yawning on patrol.”  Arms folded over her chest, Marinette’s gaze drifted out the window..  </p><p>“You’re worried about him.”</p><p>“He <em>was </em>a bit distracted.”  Her fingers rapped on her upper arms.   “I mean, I get it.  It has been a little tricky even for me to keep up the correspondence and make it feel new… especially given just how much I can’t really say.”</p><p>Tikki nodded sagely.  “It would be handy if you could actually say more.  But it would still be risky if anyone happened to find those letters first.”</p><p>“If only there was some sort of code…”  she trailed off.</p><p>Suddenly, she leapt up, scrambling downstairs.</p><p>“Marinette?”  Tikki hissed.</p><p>Silently, Marinette pressed her finger over her lips.</p><p>“Sounds like Mom is just about to head to bed.”  </p><p>Tikki shrugged.  “It’s about that time of the evening, yes.”</p><p>Marinette smirked.  “You wanted a code, right?”</p><p>Tiny brows furrowed, Tikki nodded.  “Of course.  It would mean as Guardian, you could do so much more to make sure Chat Noir was okay, too.”</p><p>Marinette smiled triumphantly.  “Around this part of Paris, there are not a lot of people my family knows who can speak Chinese here at the bakery, let alone read it.  Except for Mom.”</p><p>Tikki blew out a weary breath.  “Not since Master Fu left, anyways.”</p><p>Marinette crossed her arms over her chest.   “Uncle Wang hasn’t been back to visit since.  The only other person I know is Adrien.  And it isn't likely he'd be in my room any time soon."</p><p>Tikki nodded encouragingly.  "You’ll just have to be extra careful about it at school"</p><p>Marinette winked as she bent down to open the door, whispering.  “It sounds like the perfect time to see if Mom wouldn’t mind helping me to practice my Chinese.”</p><hr/><p>Sabine blinked, pausing mid-sip.  She turned around from her spot at the counter as the sound of footfalls on the attic stairs creaked behind her</p><p>“Marinette,  I thought you were already in bed.”</p><p>“I was having trouble sleeping.”  Marinette wrinkled her nose, still puzzling out the best approach to ask her mother.  “Well, I laid down.  But hadn’t managed to drift off yet.”</p><p>“What’s on your mind?”  Her mother grinned, softly ruffling Marinette’s hair.  “You’ve clearly got something bothering you.”</p><p>“I’ve…”  Marinette wrinkled her nose.  “I’ve been thinking about practicing my Chinese.”</p><p>Sabine beamed.  “That’s wonderful!  I’m sure your Grandmother and Uncle would be delighted to get a letter from you.”</p><p>Humming, Marinette nodded, pouring herself the rest of the hot water to steep her own cup of tea.  She was careful not to meet her mother’s eyes, as she was still mentally plotting just how this was supposed to work.</p><p>Sabine’s grin only widened.  “Any particular reason you wanted to brush up on your skills?”</p><p>Flailing immediately, Marinette managed to dump half the sugar bowl onto the counter.</p><p>Sighing fondly from behind her own cup of tea, Sabine finished her last sip.  Between Tom and Marinette, she was endlessly glad that they’d been building extra money into the food budget for years.  “No matter.  If you have anything that you need me to check over, you know where to find me.”</p><p>Exasperated, Marinette nodded, salvaging what sugar she could and wiping the rest of it into the rubbish bin as Sabine rinsed out her own cup.</p><p>Eyeing the large scoop that Marinette tossed into her cup, she shook her head fondly as her daughter raced back upstairs with the cup.  “Don’t stay up <em>too</em> late.”</p><p>"Night, Mom!"</p><p>After the Marinette's door snapped closed, Sabine headed to bed, chuckling as she closed the door behind her.</p><p>Tom blinked blearily, as she crawled into bed beside him.  “Something amusing, dear?”</p><p>Wisely, she kept quiet on her rapidly growing suspicions of just why their daughter would suddenly get it into her head to study up on her Chinese.  Especially since Tom had gone thoroughly overboard after her first confession.  </p><p>Cuddling in beside him, she whispered.  “Our Marinette never really does things the easy way for herself, does she?”</p><p>His chest rose fell beneath her hand.  “She definitely wouldn’t be our child otherwise.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to Kellarhi, this is finally cleaned up enough for all of you!</p><p>In honor of the sudden, untimely demise of the APS King Banana bot, I'm pouring out a Banana Smoothie with this chapter.</p><p> </p><p>  <em>*No actual bananas were harmed in the making of this fic chapter.</em></p><p> </p><p>  <em>** The smoothie, on the other hand... </em></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Even though Ladybug had ended their patrol early, Adrien was still sleepy the next day. It probably hadn’t helped that he stayed up late working on letters for Marinette.</p><p>Carefully eyeing the empty hallway, Adrien ducked into the locker room only after he was sure the coast was clear.  He had intentionally waited to drop in and pick the letters up during lunch when he was sure nearly everyone else was bound to be in the lunchroom or headed home.  </p><p>With so little energy, everyone being out of the way made this the perfect solution.  He really didn’t have the energy to change into the Mr. Banana costume right now.</p><p>Heading towards his locker, he glanced around the room one last time before releasing Plagg from his school bag to snag the letters from the top of Marinette’s locker.</p><p>He smiled wistfully as Plagg placed the two envelopes into his hands.</p><p>“Alright, kid.”  Plagg grumbled.  “Now, let’s get home and get my cheese.”</p><p>Stowing the letters in his bag, Adrien nodded, then fired off a text message to his bodyguard.  “Sounds like a plan.”</p>
<hr/><p>It wasn’t often that he called the Gorilla, but, as run down as he was feeling, it was worth whatever extra rest he could sneak in.</p><p>Tired as he was, the weariness didn’t stop him from opening the pink envelope in the car just as soon as he was buckled in.  </p><p>The Gorilla simply arched an eyebrow, but—as always—said nothing.</p><p>In response to his Cinderella tale, Marinette had sent him back a link to one of her favorite singers, who was narrating one of her favorite stories from a few years back.  Leaning back in his seat, Adrien closed his eyes, already tapping his brain for a new idea… something he knew he hadn’t ever mentioned to Nino…</p><p>Just in case...</p><p>Shaking his head, he straightened in his seat to pull the second letter from his bag.</p><p>Wide eyed, Adrien was stunned to see the Chinese characters on the page before him.  Even as long as he had studied, he couldn’t recognize too many immediately.</p><p>Now, <em>that </em>wasn’t exactly what he’d expected to see from Marinette.</p><p>His eyes scanned the page for what he could glean on a quick pass, as he slumped back in his seat.  Even if this letter didn’t seem to have any sort of signature, when he considered where he had found the note, there was no doubt that it had come from her.  </p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>“<em>Mom has been after me to practice.  Not that there have been a lot of other opportunities...</em>”</p>
</div><p>Adrien gaped as the words settled into a knot at the pit of his stomach, and the letter fell heavily into his lap.  Did Marinette think she <em>couldn’t </em>practice with him?</p><p>The sudden stop of the car jolted him from his stupor.</p><p>Shaking his head, he shoved the letter into his bag and scrambled up the stairs, passing his father’s ever-looming assistant on the way.  “I'd like to have lunch in my room, Nathalie."</p><p>He tossed his bag down beside the desk, taking out the letter and poring over the characters  again and again.</p><p>What was it that he was missing here…?</p><p>Plagg peered over at the letter as he left the safety of his bag.  “What does it say?”</p><p>“It says she wants to practice her Chinese with me.”  Adrien’s brows furrowed, setting the letter open on his desk as he paced the wide open space beside his window.  </p><p>Curious, Plagg hovered towards him rather than making his usual dive into the fridge.  “I don’t get it.  That’s good, isn’t it?”</p><p>Adrien smiled sadly, flopping wearily back onto his couch.  “With Chat Noir… <em>not</em> with Adrien. I can’t help but feel like maybe I’ve done something wrong.”</p><p>Plagg’s eyes narrowed, before quickly speeding back over to the fridge.  But he didn’t languish.  “I can’t think on an empty stomach,” he announced between noisy bites.</p><p>Adrien’s eyes slid closed as his hand scrubbed over his face.  “I’m not sure how much food would help right now…”</p><p>Plagg snorted, eating the rest of his cheese in a solid gulp.  “If you <em>could, </em>I’d saytalk to her and maybe find out just what she’s thinking.”</p><p>“Hopefully…”  Soft green eyes popped open.  Spirits renewed, Adrien practically leapt up off the couch.  “Maybe I can even figure out just how to fix whatever made her think she can’t talk to me specifically.”</p><p>Plagg chuckled fondly, sneaking another chunk of Camembert.</p><p>Frowning, Adrien settled down to write at the computer. It felt just a <em>little </em>dishonest, but clearly there was something about Adrien that made her feel less at ease than she did with Chat Noir.</p><p>He was going to write to her… but Marinette was clever, maybe she was taking all of the extra effort to translate their new conversations into Chinese characters as best as she could to keep them both safe.  Better not to use her name...</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>“<em>Dear Princess…</em>”</p>
</div><hr/><p>Marinette beamed at the sight of the envelope she pulled from the locker after the last period of the day.  </p><p>Much to her surprise, there was only one: a silver envelope.</p><p>Her brows furrowed as she tucked it into her purse and darted home.  She didn’t expect an answer so quickly.  Of course, it wasn't an entirely surprising move by her partner.</p><p>All the more reason to really figure out the best way to keep their communications secret with codes.  And there was no better way to be sure—as the new Guardian, of course—that her kitty was taking care of himself. He might tell Marinette things that trouble him in a way he might not show to Ladybug…</p><p>Or at least he <em>might </em>be able to, if she could figure out how to get the translation tool she found to not half-garble his message.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>“<em>I’m always purrfectly happy to practice with you. Although I am </em>s<em>urprised you don’t really have others to practice with.</em>”</p>
</div><p>She knew she could trust him to be vague… he’d even figured out how to keep it relatively non-descript even with the old nickname he’d given her near the start of it all.</p><p>Sitting down at her desk, she started typing at the keyboard, puzzling out just what she wanted to write back.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“Mom is often busy down in the shop.  Another friend is really busy as well.”</em>
  </p>
</div><p>The persistent click clack of the keyboard and her weary sigh were the only sounds in the room.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“In fact, a lot of my friends are super busy right now.  Or are busy dating one another.  I’m usually pretty busy and that keeps my focus on other things, but there are days where it is kind of lonely being off by myself…</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>I was honestly surprised—and pleased—that anyone had noticed.  And now I’ve actually managed to get two pen pals to keep me from feeling so lonely.</em>
  </p>
</div><p>Lifting her fingers from the keyboard, Marinette leaned back in her chair… spinning herself back and forth as she picked up a nearby pen and twirled it between her fingers.  </p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>Besides, it is really nice to have a way to talk where nearly anyone who might see it would have no clue.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Better to keep you safe."</em>
  </p>
</div><hr/><p>After lunch the next day, a response was already waiting for her.  Since the locker room was still mostly empty, she took a peek, recognizing at least a few characters already.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>"I’m very glad that it will keep you safe, too."</em>
  </p>
</div><p>"That's the idea, Chaton."  She whispered fondly, peering furtively about before she tucked the newest envelope into her purse.</p><p>She passed Adrien and Nino as she left the locker room, nearly running into them as she tucked the envelope into her purse breathlessly.</p><p>“Oof!”</p><p>“Hey, Marinette,”  Nino helped her steady herself.  “You okay?”</p><p>“Just peachy,” she murmured automatically, half chuckling.</p><p>“Glad to hear it.”  Adrien beamed in a way that was doing dodgy things to her heart—especially considering the fact that Adrien was still seeing Kagami…</p><p>Marinette flinched, backpedalling a little before rushing down the hall.  “Sorry, guys.  I’m going to be late.”  </p><p>Belatedly, she turned to toss a hasty wave in their direction. She hadn’t turned much, but it was just enough to see Adrien’s smile slip away as he watched her hasty retreat.  “See you tomorrow, Marinette.</p>
<hr/><p>It wasn’t until she was safely in front of her computer at home that she dared to look at Chat Noir’s note again.  There was a lot more that he had to say, but she didn’t dare to try to translate it until she was away from prying eyes.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“I’m surprised you feel lonely.  You seem to have so many friends.  A lot who stood up for you when I’ve been around.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>That time, when we talked up on your balcony… I thought you had someone in mind.  Did that not work out for you?”</em>
  </p>
</div><p>In spite of herself, Marinette was trying hard not to cry.</p><p>It was incredibly refreshing that Chat Noir had such confidence in her—on either side of the mask.</p><p>If only she had that kind of luck…</p>
<hr/><p>“Mom!”  Heavy footsteps heralded the sudden, clamorous rush down her stairs after a full hour of endless pacing on the upstairs floorboards.</p><p>“What is it, Marinette?”  Sabine chuckled as Marinette raced into view.</p><p>“I’m… trying to write something.  But I’m not really sure that the message is translating well.”</p><p>Sabine tapped her lips thoughtfully, narrowing her eyes as she peered over at her anxious daughter.  Clearly it was a sensitive subject.  She wouldn’t have been struggling nearly so much otherwise.  “Well, what are you trying to say?”</p><p>Marinette bit her lip, pacing a little as her eyes imagined the words flowing onto the pages as she must have done so often with her sketchbooks.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“I have a friend.  He still is, really.  But only that.  He likes me, just not in the same way that I liked him.”  </em>
  </p>
</div><p>“<em>Cherie</em>,”  Sabine tilted her head against Marinette’s as she hugged her.  No wonder she struggled so.  If that nice Adrien boy was her daughter’s pen pal—as she suspected—writing this sort of thing was practically a minefield.  “Let me think about it for a few minutes, and see what I can come up with…”</p>
<hr/>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“There is a boy I like.  He’s a close friend.  He still is, really.  But <strong>only </strong>that.  He likes me, just not in the same way that I liked him.”  </em>
  </p>
</div><p>Adrien’s gaze zipped over the words for the twentieth time, studying the green paper as diligently as anything else he’d reviewed here in the library.  </p><p>He was certain Marinette had to be talking about Luka.  Not that Chat Noir was supposed to know that…</p><p>It was a little surprising, of course.  He wouldn’t have thought that Luka would turn Marinette down.</p><p>He didn’t think anyone could.</p><p>He shook his head.  If he hurried, he could drop off his answer in her locker before fencing started.</p><p>
  <em>“I’m sorry to hear it.  Really. Cat’s Honor!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’m not sure if it makes it any better, but I do understand.  I’ve struggled enough with my feelings for a certain Lady in my life.”</em>
</p>
<hr/><p>Marinette’s reply was straight to the point.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“Aren’t you dating someone?  I was sure I had heard that… from a friend.”</em>
  </p>
</div><p>Adrien sighed, raking his hand through his hair as he sat down on the bench.  That must have been Alya that she meant.</p>
<hr/><p>Adrien agonized over his response for a while; all through class, through lunch, and through a phenomenally bad fencing match with Kagami.</p><p>“You’re unfocused.”  She smirked, handily knocking away his foil.  “<em>Again…</em>”</p><p>They might not be dating, but he and Kagami were still hanging out.  Within the first few days, she realized (despite his best efforts to move on) that his feelings weren’t really all that engaged.  <em>But </em>both of them were able to leave the house more with the cover that they were together… so they had kept up the pretense.</p><p>And Kagami was really starting to make a lot of friends.  He was really, really happy for her.  He wasn’t going to take that freedom away from her… especially since it was giving him a bit more freedom to hang out with his other friends as well.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“It kind of didn’t work out.  I wasn’t giving my friend enough attention.  Not as much as she deserved.  But we’re still friends.”</em>
  </p>
</div><hr/><p>There was a surprising thrill that raced up Marinette’s spine as she read those words.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“Oh…  I guess I thought you would be trying to purr-suade your partner otherwise.”</em>
  </p>
</div><hr/><p>It was impossible for Adrien not to grin when she was emulating his puns.  </p><p>Even if the topic was a little more serious...</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>“<em>She made her feelings pretty clear.  No matter what, I can’t afford to lose her.  So if friendship is all I can have, it has to be enough.</em></p>
  <p><em>She is right, after all.  There are plenty of other girls out there.  I just know I can’t rush into it again.  Not without putting too many people I care about at risk.</em>”</p>
</div><hr/>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“Oh… I can understand that all too well.”</em>
  </p>
</div><hr/><p>Adrien sighed, as he hastily scrawled out his answer in the back of the sedan on the way to school from his early morning photoshoot.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“^_^  There’s no reason you should have to suffer the same way, though.  You’re creative.  If words don’t work, can’t you make him something?”</em>
  </p>
</div><hr/>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“Oh, I have.  Plenty of times.  I’ve baked.  I’ve knitted.  I’ve written several letters to him.  But nearly every time has gone sideways.”</em>
  </p>
</div><p>For his own part, Adrien re-read the words, more than a little baffled.  For the life of him, he couldn’t recall anything knit in what Kitty Section had been wearing. He grabbed for his phone, scrolling through the few social media posts to try to refresh his memory first before giving up.</p><p>Of course, if Marinette had given Luka something she’d spent so much time on, he probably wouldn’t wear it anywhere like a gig where it might go missing.</p><p>Something like that was far too valuable.</p><p>Shaking his head, Adrien pocketed his phone and focused back on her words.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>“<em>I may understand better than you think.  Because of the mask, I can’t really pull out all the stops.  I can’t ever say too much, but I had so many plans for how to woo her.  But I never was able to use them because it was too possible she might make some connections to who was hiding behind the mask.</em></p>
  <p>
    <em> My Lady has been very firm about keeping the masks in place.”</em>
  </p>
</div><hr/>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“Like the language skills?”</em>
  </p>
</div><hr/>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“That and more.  Some things I’d even been practicing for months...”</em>
  </p>
</div><p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<hr/><p>“Are you sure you want to do this, Marinette?”</p><p>She sighed.  “I am the Guardian.  And Ladybug.  What else have I been missing by keeping myself in the dark about all the tools we actually have…”</p><p>A tiny, high-pitched sigh was her only response...</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“You know, some of those skills might come in handy?  I know your partner sometimes has some weird plans.  It seems like knowing some of that might help her out.”</em>
  </p>
</div><hr/>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“I would do anything she ever needed of me.  I’m just not sure that she would want to know.  Or how much it might help.”</em>
  </p>
</div><p>Tikki sighed as Marinette read the words aloud for the tenth time.  “I’m not sure that reading it any more will give you some sudden inspiration.”
</p><p>Marinette pouted.  “It does work sometimes.”</p><p>“You’re the guardian.”  Tikki assured her.  “You’re the one who understands all the powers, and all their costs.  No other human is better situated to make this call, Marinette.”</p><p>Marinette tilted her head.  “You’re right…”</p><p>Tikki blinked.  “I am?”</p><p>Curving her lips, Marinette started to write.  “I <em>might</em> be the only human… but I have been hearing advice from a certain Kwami for months and months now…”</p><p>Typing slowly, Marinette carefully chose every single word that she would pop into the translator.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“Maybe if you stuck with things that are pretty common.  For instance, you mentioned you were practicing.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Out of curiosity, what do you play?”</em>
  </p>
</div><hr/><p>Like the other letters, the answer came fast.</p><p>Marinette eagerly opened the silver envelope as soon as she had raced up to her room.  Her bag clattered to the floor as she sank down onto her chaise, mind ready to puzzle out how to secretly advise her partner how his secret skills could really help them both on the battlefield. </p><p>Inside was a silly, short story—in French.    One very much like the ones that she had been sharing with her secret pen pal.</p><p>Marinette blinked.  And blinked again.</p><p>Suddenly frantic, she scrambled, grabbing the other one from her now-toppled bag. She tore open the envelope that looked to be the exact type her pen pal had been sending through Banana Noir all along.</p><p>Inside, her eyes drifted up to that first hint of ink on the page… </p><p>Nibbling her lip, Marinette queued up the translator app for the first word.  The one she couldn’t quite get past...</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“Piano...”</em>
  </p>
</div><p>She inhaled sharply. <em>How?</em></p><p>How was it that Chat Noir’s answer—telling her what he practiced—had come from inside the yellow envelope?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*runs away cackling*</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks as always to Kellarhi for beta reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Squishing her cheeks behind her hands, Marinette frantically paced the length of her room, shooting accusatory glances at the pair of envelopes still out on her desk. </p><p>“Marinette?”  Tikki whispered, looking up from her stash of cookies in the drawer. “What is it?”</p><p>“This is a disaster!”  Marinette groaned.  Her eyes darted anxiously to the clock on her wall. It was lunchtime, and she had to go back to school somehow.   “How?  How could this have happened, Tikki?”</p><p>“What is it?”  Tikki hovered over the letters, staring down at them in confusion.  “What did he say?”</p><p>Blowing out a heavy breath, Marinette's voice lowered.  Arms crossed over her chest, she started pacing anew.  The floorboards creaked noisily beneath her feet. “It’s not the how… it’s the where.”</p><p>Tikki blinked.   “I’m still not sure <em>what </em>exactly happened.”</p><p>“Neither am I honestly.”  She halted, eyes darting quickly over to the pair of letters on her desk, rubbing her hands comfortingly over her upper arms.  “But somehow… I’m going to have to answer <em>him…</em>”</p><p>So absorbed with the latest looming crisis, Marinette didn’t notice the squeak on the hinges of her door.</p><p>Not until it was much too late.</p><p>Luckily for them both, Tikki did, rushing to dive out of sight by phasing into the desk drawer </p><p>“Marinette?”  Sabine said, her head only half up the steps.  “Aren’t you hungry, sweetie?”</p><p>She paled, looking around in shock before she blinked. “What?”</p><p>“Aren’t going to come down for lunch?  You only have a little while before you need to head back to school right?”</p><p>“Sorry, I was distracted.”</p><p>“I noticed.”  Her mother grinned fondly.  </p><p>“It’s just…”  Marinette nibbled at her lip.  “I had a <em>massive </em>problem dropped onto me.  And my brain just isn’t letting it sink in.”</p><p>Sabine ruffled her bangs  “Those classes are getting trickier, aren’t they?”</p><p>Marinette smiled ruefully, carefully not saying anything. Her mother wasn’t <em>wrong</em>, of course…</p><p>Just... a little off the mark in this case.</p><p>“If you’re stuck, you should slow down and take your problem, step by step. That’s bound to get your brain moving in the right direction.”</p><p>Marinette’s eyes widened.  “That… just might work…”</p><p>Sabine winked.  “You let me worry about lunch.  A little food will do that growing brain good.  I’ll bring something up in a minute.  You get moving on that problem.  I know I always feel better once mine are behind me.”</p><p>“Thanks, Mom.”</p>
<hr/><p>Tikki didn’t dart out until her mother had dropped off the plate and ducked back down the stairs.</p><p>“What are you going to do?”  Tikki whispered.  </p><p>“I need to write <em>him </em>back. In fact, I’m sure Chat Noir will be expecting it.”  Marinette sighed, her head tilted onto a fist as she glanced warily down at the pair of letters.  “But what on Earth am I supposed to say to this mix up?”</p><p>“I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”  Tikki patted her arm.  “You always do.”</p><p>“Thanks, Tikki.” Marinette’s lips pressed into a thin line. She was far less confident than her Kwami, at least in this case.</p><p>Puzzled, she chewed through the sandwich her mother had sent up.  </p><p>“What if... Chat Noir got the letter without an envelope and got distracted before putting his response in the wrong envelope.”</p><p>Tikki blinked.  “That’s possible, I suppose.”</p><p>Marinette tapped her fingers on the bread.  “Of course, Chat Noir is really only distracted when he is in a hurry.  And we didn’t have an Akuma to fight for a little while now…”</p><p>“He did seem tired, didn’t he?”</p><p>“Yes…”  Marinette frowned.  She nibbled instead at her lip, intent on studiously making a list that could consider every possible angle she could think of.  She never really liked to doubt Chat Noir.  Her partner could be annoying from time to time, but there wasn’t anyone else she knew who worked nearly as hard.  Lately, he had constantly been a surprise with just how thoughtful and kind he could be to her—on both sides of the mask.</p><p>She smiled softly.  There wasn’t anyone else she trusted so much to have her back.  </p><p>“Huh.”  She breathed, setting the sandwich down, peering back over at Tikki.  “Of course, we both know he wasn’t exactly alone, was he?”</p><p>The kwami’s head tilted, begging the silent question.</p><p>“Plagg can do everything you can, right?”</p><p>Tikki beamed.  “Aside from creation… yes, our abilities <em>are </em>pretty similar.”</p><p>Tapping her fingers lightly on the pencil, Marinette asked, “Do you think Plagg might have switched the envelopes?”
</p><p>Tikki tiny scarlet brows furrowed.  “I don’t know, Marinette.  I suppose it is possible. He does sometimes like to play tricks.  But, this would be unusual for him.  Plagg is typically just really lazy…”</p><p>Marinetted sighed, letting her head fall wearily onto her crossed arms atop the desk.  “Chat Noir never mentioned any of the contents of the letters, either.  So I can’t be sure, but neither seems particularly likely.”</p><p>Frowning, Marinette tucked the pencil atop her lip and rolled it upward to balance it between her lips and her nose.  </p><p>“Maybe… Chat Noir bought extra envelopes and had some sort of accident and had to swap them out?  He really has been tired lately. Maybe that made him more clumsy?”</p><p>“Or maybe,” Tikki interjected quickly, “there is something else in Chat Noir’s civilian life that is making him tired.”</p><p>Marinette sat up in her seat suddenly, her eyes growing wide.  She gaped as a rogue thought came to mind.  “Tikki,”  She breathed, her gaze darted across the room.  “What if Chat Noir is actually the pen pal?  What if that is why he was so tired?”</p><p>Tikki blinked.  “Marinette…”</p><p>Marinette closed her eyes, shaking her head as her shoulders fell.  “No.  That’s ridiculous…   Clearly, I’m the one who is tired.”</p><p>Tikki flitted close, softly patting her chosen on the head.  </p><p>Sitting up so quickly she spun around in her chair, Marinette’s eyes shot wide open.  “What if someone <em>else </em>found them?”</p><p>Tikki frowned.  “They were kind of out in the open, so I suppose that is quite possible.  So they opened the envelopes, since nothing was on the outside, and then put the letters back in the wrong envelopes?”</p><p>Marinette peered around and grabbed her diary box from her drawer, pulling the key from her necklace.  “Probably only Ivan and Kim are even tall enough to have seen them, and none of the teachers were in there during the school day.  I’m not sure anyone else is really tall enough to spot anything that high up.  Besides, I’m pretty sure I would have noticed if the seal had already been broken when I opened the letters.  I would have noticed tape, and there doesn’t seem to be anything extra to glue them shut, right?”</p><p>Tikki nodded.</p><p>“Another thing still bothers me, though.  Would the pen pal… <em>whoever</em> he is, trust in him enough to just leave the letter with Chat Noir in an open envelope?”  </p><p>Tikki’s tiny smile pressed into a strained thin line.  “I don’t know.”  </p><p>Marinette blew out a noisy breath as she bit into the sandwich again.  “Maybe Chat Noir bought more envelopes… somewhere?”</p><p>As she chewed, Marinette scribbled down the possible list so far.  “Or maybe he was the one putting them into envelopes all along?”</p><p>“I guess that’s possible…”  Tikki trailed off, doubtfully.</p><p>“Hmmm... except Chat Noir really didn't seem to indicate he knew what was inside…”</p><p>Tikki smiled ruefully.  “You both have gotten pretty good at keeping secrets…”</p><p>Frazzled, Marinette ruffled her fingers ruthlessly through her pigtails, urging herself to think faster.  Time was running out.</p><p>“Oh!”  Her eyes widened suddenly.  Hastily, she wheeled over in front of her computer, pulling up a search online.  “Maybe if I could find those envelopes and where they can be bought, that will give me some sort of hint…”</p><p>Her fingers dashed over the keys, scanning page after page to match  the yellow envelope.  She didn’t want to look too closely into the ones she knew Chat Noir was using.</p><p>It really wouldn't do for her to look too closely.</p><p>It seemed yellow envelopes were a little common.  She slid the paper through her fingers.  The envelope itself was surprisingly heavy.  Far more than the ones she had found in a good stationery store just a few streets over.  However, if this search was any indication, the envelopes she sent her letters back in were nearly half the price… and came in a larger package.</p><p>Which was… <em>interesting</em> at least.</p><p>Frowning, Marinette grabbed for the pile of old envelopes, determined to eliminate the possibility by comparing the new envelopes against the old. She was never more glad that she’d kept them all.</p><p>The first few notes from her pen pal had been on that higher end yellow paper, but some of the latter ones were just on plain white, even though the envelopes had still been the original yellow color from the stationery set.   She had barely even noticed because the paper was nearly as heavy.  </p><p>“The ones from Chat Noir were on a similar paper, but it is really hard to tell if they are actually one and the same.”</p><p>“Do you want to transform and see if you have any better luck?”</p><p>Marinette sighed, dropping her head down on her desk.  “I’m not sure it will help, really.  The gloves would probably get in the way.  It seems like Chat Noir really did splurge on these expensive envelopes…  they aren't self adhesive, but the older style where you have to lick and stick.”  She glanced at the stack of letters on her desk.  “All the other envelopes were sealed, too—and also apparently all not tampered with.”</p><p>Tikki was quiet for a while.  After a minute a slow smile snuck out.  “I’m not sure what that really tells us.  Except for that fact that we've seen again what lengths Chat Noir will go to to spoil people he cares about.”</p><p>Marinette nodded, trying to not let the idea bother her.  She was still getting over Adrien, and Chat had someone else right now.  "Whoever he ends up with will be a lucky girl…"</p><p>“You may be right,” Tikki chuckled.</p><p>Marinette slumped back in her seat, wearily.</p><p>“I think I am getting off track.”  She sighed.  “The envelopes that might be a bit more pricey because of the higher quality, but it <em>is </em>possible for Chat Noir to have fixed a mistake.”</p><p>“So where does that leave us?”  Tikki shrugged between bites of a macaron.</p><p>“With more questions than answers…”  She sighed.</p><p>“Not for now.  You need to head back to school.”  </p><p>Marinette nodded, gathering up her books. With 15 minutes until classes started again, she took one last bite of her sandwich before she rushed down the stairs and out the door.</p>
<hr/><p>There was one thing about this mixed message fiasco that was really bothering her.  </p><p>As she raced back, it was pure luck that she spotted Principal Damocles out on the front steps of the school, ushering the students back from lunch.  “Ah, Principal Damocles!”  She beamed, hopping up the steps.  “I had a question for you.”</p><p>“Yes, Marinette?”  He peered down at her.</p><p>“I noticed that there seemed to be a few cameras up around the school.  I was surprised that no one had mentioned anything—with the special regard for student privacy.”</p><p>His bushy brows rose.  “It’s a concern over student safety, I’m afraid.  With all the Akuma, we have to be prepared to get you students to safety as fast as possible.”</p><p>“Have you seen many Akuma yet?”</p><p>“Well,” he huffed, “The Akuma aren’t often an easy thing to spot… not until they start causing trouble.”</p><p>“So you haven’t found anything unusual yet?”</p><p>“Not yet.”  He grinned.  “But I’m determined to stay vigilant.  Someone has to keep you kids safe.”</p><p>Marinette smirked, shuffling her bag on her shoulder as she turned off towards class, shouting over her shoulder.  “I’m sure someone will.”</p><p>Tikki hissed from her bag.  “So no sign of Chat Noir yet?”</p><p>Marinette nodded.  “No giant bananas were spotted either.  Which only makes me wonder just how Chat Noir has been getting in?”</p><p>Tikki pouted, shrinking back into the bag.</p><p>Damocles was not exactly quiet with his concerns.  Even a giant, walking banana should make an impression on the sometimes scatterbrained Principal...</p><p>
  <em>Unless…</em>
</p><p>Unless Chat Noir was <em>already </em>on the inside.</p><p>She peered back over her shoulder, glancing at the few students still scurrying into open classrooms.</p><p>With newfound curiosity that wasn’t to be denied, she ducked back into the locker room.</p><p>Chat Noir was tall, but he <em>wasn’t </em>as tall as an adult.  She knew he was probably of a similar age to her.</p><p>She peered up at the top of the lockers.  Getting the messages up on the locker was hard—it took Tikki’s help for her to do it.  Maybe Kim or Ivan could manage it, but not many others were actually that tall.  </p><p>And Kim definitely couldn’t be Chat Noir, nor could Ivan.  Not only was he the first one Akumatized, he and Mylene were blissfully happy together.  </p><p>She bit her lip.  Maybe Chat Noir let someone else deliver them instead?</p><p>Or maybe… Chat Noir truly <em>was </em>the concerned school mate…</p><p>Marinette’s eyes widened as her growing mental collection of dots suddenly fell all too neatly into place.</p><p>Chat Noir played the piano.  He could fence—or at least appeared to hold his own pretty well.  He was good enough to stand toe to toe with Kagami when she was first Akumatized…</p><p>But the fencing team wasn’t all that big, right?  Maybe half a dozen at most. And Kagami obviously wasn’t Chat Noir either…</p><p>She checked her calendar, confirming that Kagami and Adrien were both scheduled to have fencing practice after school this afternoon.</p><p>She’d been so focused on Adrien.  Right now, it seemed entirely possible that Chat Noir had actually been hiding beneath her nose, all along.</p>
<hr/><p>Ladybug had been pacing the rooftop for the past half an hour, when Chat Noir finally arrived—five minutes ahead of schedule.</p><p>“You’re here early, My Lady,” he murmured with a half-hearted smile.</p><p>His energy was low, far lower than she was used to.  His shoulders were slumped and he slowly loped behind her as she blazed a trail into the next neighborhood over.</p><p>“Are you tired, Chaton?”</p><p>He tilted his head, before stretching languorously.  Careful to not let her see the disappointment in his eyes.  “Just a bit sad.  I was expecting to hear back from a friend.”</p><p>Nibbling her lip, Ladybug came to stand right in front of him.  Every instinct screamed at her to reassure him.  “Maybe they were busy?”  A slow, enigmatic smile curved her lips.  “I bet you’ll hear back tomorrow…”</p><p>He nodded, absently.  </p><p>“But for now.”  She grinned.  “Why don’t we spar to keep your mind off it?”</p><p>The naked hope in his eyes as she grabbed his claw and tugged him back onto his feet pulled at her heartstrings.</p><p>Carefully, she moved to the other side of the roof so he wouldn’t notice the warm flush burning her cheeks… not until he might mistake it for the exertion of their mock fight.</p>
<hr/><p>“C’mon, Chat,”  Ladybug chided, winding up her yo-yo to spin it like a shield.   It was hard to distract him from everything when he was already so dazed.  “Come at me seriously.”</p><p>Claws tightened his grip on his baton.  “I don’t want to hurt you, My Lady…”</p><p>She snorted.  “Do you honestly think I’d let you?”</p><p>He pouted.  It was the only signal before his attack.  But it was enough.  His baton extended in full suddenly, bashing into the yo-yo shield like a blade. It broke her rhythm, leaving her no choice but to lunge forward with it—until she could clearly see and dodge.</p><p>Instinctively, Chat was already prepared and knew she'd strike with her yo-yo.</p><p>He rolled across the ground to keep her off balance, but they both wound up caught in the string from her suddenly stopped weapon.</p><p>Mere centimeters from her gaze, his pupils widened at the dawning of realization of just how tied up they were.</p><p>Of just how close they had ended up.</p><p>“Sorry.”   He flinched, plastering on a rueful smile.</p><p>“It’s my fault, too.”  She conceded.  “I didn’t figure we’d both get tangled in this mess.”
</p><p>Serious, sad eyes stared back at her.  “There are far worse places to be trapped.”</p><p>Ladybug grew quiet, her head tilted as she watched him carefully.  She wanted nothing more than to echo his gentle, comforting touch to the shoulder—but that wasn’t exactly possible at the moment.</p><p>She worried her lip, as he inched backwards, struggling against the magical string.    </p><p>Not for the first time today she was wondering just how many of the boys on the fencing squad also played piano and spoke Chinese…</p><p>Or if there really only was the one…  </p><p>Because if it really was Adrien hiding under all that magical leather, then she truly knew just how trapped her partner felt.  </p><p>His father never seemed to let him go anywhere.</p><p>The seriousness of the moment was broken up by the overblown and irreverent, waggling of his eyebrows.</p><p>Ladybug rolled her eyes—far slower than she’d usually like to recover.  Unfortunately it was likely not quick enough to mask the sharp intake of breath she’d made when he reverted to his usual absurd flirtation.  </p><p>Maybe the sparring had been a failure, but it seemed as though her Chaton was hitting far closer to his mark.</p><p>She closed her eyes, summoning her focus.  It was clear they were going to have to roll together at least once for her to reach the main bit of the yo-yo so she could safely retract it.  </p><p>As soon as they broke free—and broke apart—she let herself trust her own voice.  “I think you’ve been holding back on me, Kitty.  Have you been taking fencing or something?”</p><p>“<em>Purr</em>haps,” he purred, smirking victoriously.  </p><p>She was certain for instant that Chat Noir was about to pose and preen.  Instead, he grew more quiet and introspective than she’d ever thought possible.   “I thought you didn’t want to know about my civilian life.”</p><p>Ladybug turned away as her cheeks undoubtedly grew rosy.  “Maybe I’m beginning to see the <em>appeal</em>.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Getting in Marinette's head for bits of mysteries is a challenge...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>With my never-ending thanks to Enber and Kellarhi as always for really helping these stories to shine!</p><p>I present to you: the final chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Adrien exhaled wearily as he stopped back at his locker after fencing practice, fiddling absently with the lock as he covertly peered over at Marinette’s.</p><p>For the second day in a row, there was a distinct absence of anything back from her.  </p><p>This morning, he dropped off the usual yellow note, still posing as her secret pen pal.  Just a silly little pick-me-up, one very much like the others that had left her chuckling.</p><p>But in the note from Chat Noir, he only dared to ask if she was okay after her sudden silence.</p><p>Adrien’s shoulders slumped as he finally managed to put in the code correctly to pry open the door and grab his bags.  It was too much to hope that she might have slipped in to grab the notes he’d left before he had headed off to practice today.</p><p>What was the point of being a secret superhero if he couldn’t make things better for the people he really cared about?</p><p>With one last forlorn glance at her locker, Adrien shut the door and hefted his bag on his shoulder as he trudged out to meet his bodyguard.</p><p>All he had wanted was to help her to smile again.</p><p>But it seemed he couldn’t even do <em>that</em> right…</p><hr/><p>In the austere Agreste formal dining room, dinner was as boring and lonely as ever.  Adrien rushed through to get back to his bedroom, since there was no one else there to notice… or complain.</p><p>Plagg had stayed quiet throughout the meal, stealthily noshing a bit of stolen cheese from Adrien’s plate to tide him over for the main course that was hiding in his mini-fridge.</p><p>Stomach satisfied at least, Adrien flopped down onto his white couch to pore over the pile of letters before heading out to patrol.</p><p>“What am I missing, Plagg?”</p><p>Plagg shrugged, devouring more cheese greedily.  “Sometimes people just need a bit of time.  Besides, every chosen I’ve ever had thought their crush was a bit of a mystery.  Give me cheese any day.  Just as tasty and way less complicated.”</p><p>“Did I say something that hurt her?”  Adrien sat back, dragging his fingers through his locks and messing up the picture-perfect hairstyle that lasted through the whole of his pre-approved school day and extracurriculars.  “I certainly didn’t try to.  But somehow, I managed to mess this all up so badly.”</p><p>“I’m still not sure why you think you did.”  </p><p>He wasn’t sure why, but after one day of silence, Marinette had gone home sick this afternoon.  </p><p>She looked a little pale… maybe even a little distracted.   But there was no other indication she was unwell.</p><p>His fingers itched to transform—to drop in as Chat Noir just to check on her.  At least patrol was one thing he could still look forward to, so he could reassure himself that she was okay from a distance.</p><p>Only, he really wanted to talk to her.  </p><p><em>Adrien </em>could try… except he wasn’t <em>supposed </em>to know anything. He had no reason at all to suspect anything had been bothering Marinette, considering how well she’d been putting on a brave face.  Besides, there was always a chance someone would catch a picture of him outside trying to visit her, when he definitely wasn't supposed to be.</p><p>Sighing, Adrien curled up on his couch with the letters scattered out in front of him, reading again and again over the bundle of replies she had sent back to him.  There was such hope and joy—after she had been in such a bad place.</p><p>Settling back against the pillow, Adrien let his eyes close, holding the letters to his chest.  His mind raced, struggling to puzzle out something amazing that was sure to knock her off her feet…</p><p>A way he could somehow get all that hope and joy back on her face.</p><p><em>And his</em>...</p><p>Somehow…</p><hr/><p>Unfortunately for him, Marinette’s light was off when he drifted past on the way to patrol.</p><p>Unusually, Ladybug arrived on time rather than a few minutes late.  He couldn’t sneak in any more time pondering what to do for Marinette.</p><p>More than once on their patrol, he had fallen into murmuring a bit in Mandarin about little ideas to file away as they swooped and scampered over the rooftops.</p><p>“What were you talking about?”  She smiled, surprisingly softly, as they settled onto a rooftop after their rounds were done</p><p>“Civilian stuff.  Don’t think you want to know.”</p><p>Ladybug cuddled against her legs, pulling her knees back against her chest, just sitting quietly beside him.  “Not that I don’t <em>want</em> to.  Can’t, really.”  Her dizzyingly blue eyes darted over to meet his, warm with concern.  “But… something is troubling you?”</p><p>Chat Noir nodded, leaning his weight back as he peered up into the sky, so his eyes didn’t keep straying in the direction of Marinette’s balcony.  “A friend and I have been talking. I think I must have done something wrong, but for the life of me I can’t figure out where I slipped up with her.”</p><p>Ladybug arched a smirking brow.  “<em>Her</em>, huh?”</p><p>His cheeks flushed, he was sure of it.  At least the mask would do some extra bit of good.  “It’s not like that…” Not for <em>her </em>at least.</p><p>He sighed, his shoulders slumping.  </p><p>She bit her lip, tilting her head to lean onto his shoulder.  “I think you might be taking on some extra blame too early.  Did your friend say you did something wrong?”</p><p>“That’s the trouble. She hasn’t said anything, not for days.  After we’d been talking every day.”  He frowned, his claws digging subtly into the roofing tiles.  “I honestly really miss it.”</p><p>If Ladybug noticed his anxiousness, she was polite enough not to say anything.  She smiled softly, peering out over the familiar roofs of his home neighborhood.  “Give her some time.  I’m sure she misses you, too.”   </p><p>“You are?</p><p>“Of course,”  Ladybug beamed at him.  “I know I miss you sometimes, too, when things get insanely busy and we’re not called to duty so often.  I’m sure that your friend will figure out whatever is troubling her, and then your worries will just fade away.” </p><hr/><p>After watching Marinette rush home for lunch the next day,  Adrien dared to duck into the locker room, bracing for disappointment.</p><p>“I don’t know if I can look, Plagg.”  Adrien whimpered.</p><p>Wearily, Plagg grumbled before flying up to furtively peer over the rows of lockers.</p><p>Sighing heavily, Adrien slumped down onto the bench, his leg bouncing anxiously as he waited for some sort of news.</p><p>After what felt like an eternity, Plagg came back grinning.  His smile only dampened as his ears suddenly perked towards the soft rumble at the door.</p><p>Urgently, he tried shoving Adrien over to the locker where the banana costume was stored.  “Time to suit up, Kid.”</p><p>Adrien bit his lip, peering over his shoulder and hoping to steal a glance before he ducked into the locker. </p><p>“No time to dawdle!”  Plagg hissed quietly.</p><p>The locker door had barely snicked shut when the voices grew much louder, echoing slightly in the room.</p><p>“Did you hear something?”  That had to be Max.  </p><p>“There’s nobody here, dude.”  Kim snorted.</p><p>Adrien didn’t dare to breathe.  He didn’t even dare to move much more than to lean forward slightly, pressing his forehead against the cool surface of the locker door to quiet the vibration of excitement he was only barely holding back.  </p><p>It wasn’t until the door shut again and their voices faded that he finally allowed himself to  change into the bulky suit.  “What did she send, Plagg?”</p><p>Plagg simply grinned.  “See for yourself.”</p><p>With a little less grace than usual, Banana Noir broke out of the locker and scrambled across the empty room.  It took a few jumps to actually grab ahold of what she’d left sitting on the top of her locker, where her reply letters usually were.</p><p>Gaping, he stood in awe, staring through the honeycomb mesh of the eyes.  In his gloved hand was one tiny, familiar—but pink—box.</p><p>It was as if Ladybug’s words had been a particularly effective Lucky Charm.  </p><p>He held the tiny treasure close to his heart—or at least as close as the giant banana costume would allow.  After two days of silence, Marinette actually answered.</p><p>With baked goods.</p><p>A sudden rumble of shouts and footfalls interrupted his quiet victory, sending him racing back to an empty locker and slamming the door shut.</p><p>He tried to lean back against the back wall of the locker to calm his racing heart, but no matter how he pulled, he could only move so far.</p><p>Adrien’s gaze darted to the top of his costume.  In his haste, he didn’t realize he’d shut the door on it, leaving a bit of the banana’s point sticking out—he’d clearly be exposed if someone happened to notice.</p><p>For one, very terrifying, minute, he waited to be caught.</p><p>Thankfully, the clamour faded without anyone else scrambling in and noticing his slip up.  </p><p>If the beeping alert from his phone was any indication, the mad rush that had spiralled him into a panic was actually everyone else running away from the inevitable mid-day Akuma.</p><hr/><p>Chat Noir peered over at his partner suspiciously as she snagged the Akuma’s butterfly mid-air to purify it.  “You’re sure your magic only relates to Akuma when you’re wearing the suit, right?”</p><p>Ladybug blinked at him, clearly a bit confused.  “Last I checked, yes.”
</p><p>Chat Noir’s eyes softened, his hand drifting to rest upon his pocket and the tiny treasure it contained.  </p><p>She smirked.  “You got good news?”</p><p>Chat Noir smiled, genuine and crooked.  “The best.”</p><hr/><p>Once he was finally back in the safety of his room, Adrien sat down at his desk and pulled the tiny box out of his bag.  He marveled over the extra decorations and filigree she’d added to the usual macaron boxes from her parent’s bakery.  </p><p>As happy as he was with her delicious—and thoughtful—gift… the chocolate and mint macaron hadn't lasted long once he’d carefully pried the box open.</p><p>The box itself was pink, just like the envelopes she’d left for her pen pal.  </p><p>Adrien frowned, only now realizing that she hadn’t sent two messages.  Only the one for her secret pen pal.</p><p>It wasn’t really like Marinette to leave anyone out.  Now he really was convinced he needed to check in on her.</p><p>At least she had answered, but it was odd that she had forgotten to contact Chat Noir, especially seeing as she knew he was the messenger.</p><p>Glancing at the clock in his room, Adrien started to pace.  </p><p>There was still about 20 minutes before the Gorilla would usher him back to school—and not enough time for Chat Noir to sneak out and drop in on a friend’s balcony.</p><p>Lunchtime would not end soon enough.</p><hr/><p>Adrien was sure it had been a lucky sign that the Gorilla was already standing and waiting for him when he opened his bedroom door to head back to school. He was able to return to the classroom with time to spare.</p><p>Of course, he conveniently forgot that Marinette often raced into class just before the bell.</p><p>Adrien pouted, shooting a fretful glance at her empty chair before slumping down in his own as the rest of class shuffled in.   In all his haste and excitement to get in, he had completely forgotten it was very unlikely he would even get the chance to say more than a few words to her before class started.</p><p>In all honesty, he was <em>really </em>worried that he had done something to upset Marinette.</p><p>From what little he could recall, he had only answered her question about what he could do to help Ladybug.  </p><p>He raked his fingers through his hair, resting his head on his open palm.  Maybe she was still ust trying to figure out how to respond.  </p><p>His brows furrowed, as he shifted in the seat to cross his arms over his chest.  Playing piano wasn’t really a big battle skill when it came down to it, but Ladybug had used odder approaches in the past… with no small amount of success.</p><p>“Are you okay, Adrien?”</p><p>Startled, he looked up, meeting Marinette’s sky blue eyes.  Concerned, her head was tilted slightly as she waited patiently for him to answer.</p><p>Warmth grew in his chest at that thought, even though the model-polite smile that crept onto his lips was nearly automatic.  He nodded, ignoring the lurching skip of his heartbeat—which was surely just because she hadn’t forgotten about him after all.  “Just a little tired.”</p><p>Marinette’s smile softened as she set her bag down and sat behind him.  “These near-constant lunchtime battles are getting a little exhausting, aren’t they?”</p><p>Blinking, Adrien nodded fervently.  </p><p>Even if that wasn’t the only reason he was so tired, those battles would continue to be more exhausting for him than she would ever know.</p><hr/><p>Ladybug had cancelled patrol for the night, so as soon as he got home, Adrien set to writing out a new pair of letters to Marinette with renewed purpose.  </p><p>“Again?”  Plagg sighed noisily when Adrien settled back down at desk, pen and paper in hand after he had just put away his homework for the night.  “I thought you’d settled all of this.”
</p><p>Adrien’s eyes narrowed intently.  “Even if it takes all night, I really need to make sure to get this right.”</p><hr/><p>Yawning, Adrien stepped out of the sedan, noting that he had arrived with only a quarter of an hour before the bell for lunch would ring.  </p><p>Never was he more thankful for the relatively easy excuse of a photoshoot. It hadn’t taken <em>all</em> night, but he <em>had</em> stayed up far later than usual.  Enough that it had taken extra concealer, causing the make-up artists to grumble loudly.</p><p>At least his smiles were far more genuine than he had felt in a while.  </p><p>The pair of letters he had come up with for Marinette were burning a hole in his bag. He closed his eyes, bracing for another quick change as he headed into the locker room; he was cutting it a bit too close in time.  If he hurried, he might be able to switch into the costume quickly to drop the letters off at her locker before lunch.  </p><p>It was a scramble—but with the rapid change, he’d managed to get into the costume and slipped the letters into her locker in only 5 minutes.</p><p>Which left him enough time to check to see if she had left anything for him, too.</p><p>After yesterday, he was holding on to the hope that maybe his words would compel Marinette to write back to Chat Noir again.</p><p>He jumped, flailing awkwardly a few times before he was able to reach the top of the locker.  This time, there was no letter, but there <em>was </em>something up there.</p><p>Not just one box, but two.</p><p>The first looked just like the one she had left for him yesterday.  She clearly decorated the box for Chat Noir by hand, with the tiniest black paw print inked just above the seal.</p><p>Gleefully, he broke the wrapper open on the one meant for her Admirer.  He had still been a little worried about getting everything just right that he hadn’t eaten much for breakfast.   Greedily, he snagged the macaron and lifted the velcro that locked the heavy mesh screen that masked his just enough to sneak it into his mouth and devour it whole.</p><p>With no small amount of delight, he realized the flavor was passionfruit.  It was hard to go wrong with any of the macarons the bakery made, but this was definitely a particular favorite of his, even if it wasn’t usually on the bakery’s menu.</p><p>He <em>had </em>checked often enough.</p><p>As he chewed, he cracked open the box for Chat Noir.</p><p>Much to his surprise, the second box contained the exact same thing—he nibbled at a corner just to be sure.</p><p>Had Marinette just been baking a single batch?  </p><p>Or had she puzzled out a little more than he had planned?  Color—and tiny paw print—aside, the boxes were identical.  Was it pure coincidence that she had just managed to pick out his favorite flavor?</p><p>Marinette was clever.  <em>Insanely </em>clever, or she would never have been able to pull off what Multimouse did.</p><p>Had she managed to figure <em>him </em>out?</p><p>A very stunned Banana Noir stumbled out of the locker room.  The pair of boxes were still in hand, pressed to his heart—or as near as he could make it—like the most precious thing he had in his possession.</p><p>“Young man,”  a booming voice echoed behind him.  He froze, slowly wheeling around to spot the Principal swooping down on him.</p><p>“Yes, you.  In the banana costume.  What are you doing on school grounds?”
</p><p>“I—”  He provided, eloquently.</p><p>Principal Damocles scowled, advancing on him with surprising speed.  “I won’t have it, you know.  None of this nonsense and tomfoolery in my school.”</p><p>Not-so-nimbly, Banana Noir wheeled back and toppled backwards, promptly crushing the delicate boxes against the ground.</p><p>Crestfallen, he rushed to pick up the pieces—as much as the heavy gloves would allow, as the principal loomed overhead.  As bad as this was, it was about to get infinitely worse.</p><p>His father was about to know…</p><p>Beneath the mess of yellow, Adrien flinched and prepared to be yelled at.</p><p>He didn’t expect to hear another voice chime in instead.  “I’m pretty sure I heard from Nadja Chamack on the news this morning, there was a contest to find Mr. Banana out on the streets of Paris.  I think she mentioned some sort of prize reward… if you call in.”</p><p>Damocles blinked.  “Then shouldn’t you be calling her.”</p><p>She crossed her arms.  “Not sure that would be fair.  After all, <em>I </em>didn’t find him first…”</p><p>Damocles blinked owlishly before scurrying off.  “Don’t let him go anywhere.”</p><p>She waved.  “Oh. Don't worry. He won't give me the slip.”</p><p>Damocles guffawed merrily as he shambled off.</p><p>After he was out of sight, Marinette leaned in to press a coy little kiss to his yellow cheek.  </p><p>Banana Noir finally moved, half in panic.  “Marinette.  Won’t he find out you lied?”</p><p>“Well, it <em>isn’t </em>my favorite thing to do.”  She smiled ruefully, before glancing down to finish typing out a text.  </p><p>“Who are you writing?”</p><p>“Madame Chamack.”  She smirked, as she returned her phone to the tiny pink purse that was forever at her side.  “I might have a bit of extra babysitting duty with Manon after this, but she should be able to appease Principal Damocles.  Besides, it seems like you really needed the rescue.”  </p><p>In spite of himself, he grinned beneath the costume.  “Not like it's the first time for you, though, is it?”</p><p>“Hardly.”  Marinette smirked.  Fierce as he had ever seen her in action, she pulled him up, cumbersome costume and all. “It has to be the 80th at least.”</p><p>He peered back, banana costume eyes wide.  His eyes inside it were only marginally smaller.</p><p>He knew all too well that Marinette saved him once, very early on when the Evillustrator had outwitted them both.  He would have gotten there eventually, but her quick wit had ensured that no time had been wasted to get him out to save the day.  So, too, she had saved him when Kwami Buster had managed to steal Plagg.  Marinette had been amazing as Multimouse.  It was only a shame Ladybug would never allow her to wield a miraculous again….</p><p>Adrien frowned.  That was still only two times.  He could probably even argue for a handful more times she had helped him out, even just helping him to feel better.  But she probably wouldn’t have been very aware of that.</p><p>Except… that coy, delighted smile on her lips seemed to scream she was right.</p><p>The <em>only </em>one who could even come close to claiming to have that many saves was...</p><p>“Ladybug?” he breathed.</p><p>“Hi, Chaton.”  She grinned, "Or should I say… Adrien?" </p><p>“Oh…” Adrien breathed, hurriedly beginning to peel the front of the costume down so he could face her.  “How did<em> I</em> slip up?”</p><p>“The piano.  The fencing.”  Marinette snorted, tugging him along behind her, as if it was instinctive on her part.  “The Mandarin.  You didn’t assume that I was talking to you all along.  It’s the only reason I knew…”  </p><p> It took him a few moments to recognize the path as she tugged him back into the boiler room they’d found when fighting Horrificator.  The obvious tension in her shoulders fled as she shoved the door closed behind them.  </p><p>She peered over at him carefully.  “Luckily, it’s the very same reason you’re still completely safe now.”</p><p>He held his breath, automatically moving to hand the ring back to her.</p><p>When she realized, she reached out touching his hand. </p><p>“Keep it.”  Marinette smiled softly, stopping him in his tracks.  “I don’t think it would fit anyone else nearly as well.”</p><p>Ecstatic, he hugged her fully.  </p><p>It wasn’t until Marinette tensed up that he had belatedly realized that he was a little extra sweaty at the moment.  “Sorry.  I keep forgetting just how hot it is in this costume.”</p><p>“Don’t…”  she murmured, reaching her hand up to cup his face.  “All along, you’ve just done this to see me happy.”</p><p>“My job is to keep you safe.”</p><p>“That’s my line, Chaton…” </p><p>“Who guards the guardian?”  He frowned.</p><p>“I have a bunch of Kwami to help with that.”  Marinette whispered.  “But you have something different.  You don’t have to listen to me… but you still do.  You don’t have to care, but you have—over and over.  You keep me safe and sane so I can watch over all of them.  It’s a heavy burden, but you’ve already proven yourself, time and time again.  You know what I am like… how I think.  How I worry…”  She nibbled at her lower lip.  “When I get mired in the details and ten layers of planning, you always cut right to the heart of the matter.</p><p>“You've always cut straight to my heart.”  He winked ridiculously.</p><p>To his never-ending surprise, Marinette—Ladybug—blushed furiously.</p><p>How had he missed that she was <em>this </em>adorable?</p><p>Daring for a moment, he resorted to his oldest antics, as he had when he first introduced himself to her as Chat Noir.</p><p>Or at least he thought he had.</p><p>With well-practiced formality, he bowed over her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.  </p><p>It was a sight only made more ridiculous by him progressively peeling himself the rest of the way out of the banana costume, and Marinette collapsed into a fit of giggles at the sheer absurdity.  </p><p>But she didn't push him away, not even an inch.</p><p>He held up the tattered remains of the boxes in hand.  “Did <em>you </em>make these for me?”</p><p>She nodded, slipping her head onto his shoulder.</p><p>“You knew?”</p><p>“Not for long, really.”   She sighed.  “It’s been driving me crazy for days, figuring out what I could safely say.  Which wasn’t much in the end.”  </p><p>He chuckled.  <em>That </em>was a feeling he knew all too well.</p><p>Marinette shook her head as he opened the crushed box.  “You should throw that away…”</p><p>“No.”  He pouted.  “I’m going to <em>keep </em>it forever.”</p><p>Her eyes widened, before she could spot the slightest hint of mischief in his eyes.  “You’re being absurd.  That was on the floor.  I will make you more if you really want them.”</p><p>Adrien just laughed, joyfully.  “What if I asked for banana flavor?”
</p><p>She gasped in feigned affront.  “That’s <em>cannibalism</em>.”</p><p>He cackled madly.  “What about something a little more peachy?”</p><p>“What about if you came over and helped one afternoon?”  She butted her shoulder against his, blue eyes peering up at him.  “So we can figure out all of your favorites?”</p><p>“I think my nutritionist will be up in arms.”</p><p>“Somehow, I think they’re not counting on all the extra cardio you’ve been sneaking in every day.”  </p><p>She arched a brow, before peering down at her phone to check the time.  “Anyways, we need to get you out of here before anyone else notices you didn’t show up when your bodyguard dropped you off.”</p><p>He sighed, shucking off the banana costume and tossing it messily into a box.  He would have to stop back later to grab it, but at least it would be safe here for now.  “I wish we could stay like this all day.</p><p>“Why can’t we?”  </p><p>His brows furrowed.  “We do have class.”</p><p>“Sure,”  Marinette nodded, holding her hand out for him.  “But I’m not going to head back alone.  Neither are you.”</p><p>“It's okay."  He shrugged.  "I'm kind of used to it.”</p><p>“You shouldn't be.” Determined, she laced her fingers with his.  “Not anymore, Adrien.”</p><p>Beaming, Adrien happily followed as she led him back out into the lunchtime rush.  With his longer gait, it wasn’t hard to fall in step at her side once they were both out on the open terrace.</p><p>Ducking the curious glances from their friends, and the likely eagle eye of Principle Damocles, Marinette blazed a trail out of the school and turned towards home.</p><p><em>Her </em>home.</p><p>“So,” she whispered,  as he lowered his head to savor every one of her words.  “Let’s go get some lunch.  And you can tell me all about the notes you left in my locker…”</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>